Critical thinking skills are what we want our students to develop. Without these skills we can not guarantee a sound and effective education that will enable our kids to seamlessly blend in tomorrow 's job market. Therefore, it is our responsibility as teachers and educators to fully understand the components of this set of skills in order to better focus on them in our instruction.

I am interested in this post and post on critical thinking. Is critical thinking a skill? Can one teach critical thinking? Stephen has delivered the course on Critical Literacies MOOC in the past....

Robert H. Ennis, Author of The Cornell Critical Thinking Tests“Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe and do.”

Assuming that critical thinking is reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do, a critical thinker:

1. Is open-minded and mindful of alternatives2. Tries to be well-informed3. Judges well the credibility of sources4. Identifies conclusions, reasons, and assumptions5. Judges well the quality of an argument, including the acceptability of its reasons, assumptions, and evidence6. Can well develop and defend a reasonable position7. Asks appropriate clarifying questions8. Formulates plausible hypotheses; plans experiments well9. Defines terms in a way appropriate for the context10. Draws conclusions when warranted, but with caution11. Integrates all items in this list when deciding what to believe or do

What are the principles of critical thinking?

- Knowledge is acquired only through thinking, reasoning, and questioning. Knowledge is based on facts.

- It is only from learning how to think that you learn what to think.

- Critical thinking is an organized and systematic process used to judge the effectiveness of an argument.

- Critical thinking is a search for meaning.

- Critical thinking is a skill that can be learned.

- Do the above principles hold true and won’t change from one domain to the next?

It entails the examination of those structures or elements of thought implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and consequences; objections from alternative viewpoints; and frame of reference. Critical thinking — in being responsive to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes — is incorporated in a family of interwoven modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological thinking, economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking.

Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information and belief generating and processing skills, and 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using those skills to guide behavior. It is thus to be contrasted with: 1) the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated; 2) the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and 3) the mere use of those skills ("as an exercise") without acceptance of their results.

Critical thinking varies according to the motivation underlying it. When grounded in selfish motives, it is often manifested in the skillful manipulation of ideas in service of one’’s own, or one's groups’’, vested interest. As such it is typically intellectually flawed, however pragmatically successful it might be. When grounded in fairmindedness and intellectual integrity, it is typically of a higher order intellectually, though subject to the charge of "idealism" by those habituated to its selfish use.

Are we sure that Critical Thinking is really appreciated as it should? In my personal experience critical thinker are often opposed if not hunted. Deciding to be a critical thinker may have a high price especially in certain context like industry or management. Definitely it brings better results and can easily foster innovation, but it is hated by man of power and yes-men. I pride myself of constantly trying to be a critical thinker and most of all to be critical of myself and my actions, but I have to say that this has taken me quite a toll in my life, yet I do not regret it. Sorry for stepping in, I do hope this two-penny thought could help in sparkle some discussion on how to foster critical thinking.

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